Can you believe it...Pluto no longer a planet!!! Ramifications of this are just unimaginable. Some of them have been listed below:

1. First and foremost playing with the minds of people like us who have devised mnemonics to remember the names of all the planets there are in the solar system. Now we will have to devise some all over again.

2. Shattering dreams of so many people living near the equator of shifting to cooler climes of Pluto in the near future. Well they will have to do with Neptune instead. That is unless the scientists decide to downgrade it as well.

3. NASA's plans to send a probe to the farthest planet - Pluto. Well, they will in a sense save money by not having to send their probe so far off. I don’t think they will waste money on just an asteroid now.

4. The NDA and Congress will now have to make changes in the science textbooks again. What a boring job. No communalization issues no nothing. That is unless some religious sect comes up with a way of politicizing it.

5. One hurt pride of the guy on the left. He will have to be content with downgrading of his name now.

A good strategy

In an era of intense competition in any and all industries, this is i guess a time tested strategy to advertise. Pick up a subject that is controversial and the media will do the rest. And yes, the bloggers play their part as well. This is something akin to the film industry where there is a controversy erupting before the release of any movie to grab the public's attention. I guess this guy's strategy is woking to perfection so far...

A bird song

I dream that I’m drowning out,
I try to swim, to yell and shout,
But my cries do go in vain,
As nobody comes to alleviate my pain.

Oh apathetic world do hear my voice,
I am here not by my own choice,
I don’t remember how I reached this place,
All I remember last is a deathly face.

Long far off I see a ship,
Maybe some gay souls on a leisurely trip,
I wave and I shout trying to draw it near,
What if it leaves I am gripped by fear.

I see bright light and two loud bangs,
Here my life in the balance hangs,
And then the tide turns, there is a large wave,
Coming menacingly towards me, is this my grave.

I close my eyes and wait the end,
I end my struggle, what use to fend,
But still in my heart I pray and I hope,
That let not this be the end of the rope.

So many dreams that had to be covered,
So may avenues remain undiscovered,
And I am still so young, it’s too soon to go,
I need some time to let my thoughts flow.

A kind voice that echoes in my head,
Reminds me of what my dad once said,
Have all fun before the sunset,
So that when life ends, you have no regret.

And suddenly I’m embraced by peace and calm,
I instinctively know I’m out of harm,
I open my eyes to the chirp of a bird,
Don’t worry my dear, your message I heard.

Untitled

Something that i thought of in the bathroom while taking a shower....

Craziness is in the air,
People don’t want to be just fair,
Competition is at its peak,
To be the best is what all souls seek.

But trampling the competition is not the norm,
Rubbing shoulders together we face the storm,
No losers here only winners abound,
Cant you hear that victory sound!

Heed our warning here we come,
The future is in the hands of us chosen some,
So yield to our fury, the new Chimera,
We are here to signal the dawn of a new era.

Read At Your Own Peril

i have been gripped by a sesnse of dismay over the last few days. i know all too well of my not so great will power. i almost never ever do what i set out to do the day before. the problem is that i dont even try. and to top it all off i dont even try and change the fact that i dont try. and then i regret that i dont change the fact that i dont even give it a try. and then i set out again, set up a task again for the morrow and fail again. the cycle continues, i fail to learn anything from it. how can someone be such a big idiot. infact idiot is not the word to describe me. its something between a shameless ass and a faineant - someone who has a disinclination to work. i never get to the end of any book. mind it, the book im referring here is a study book of some sort. novels i run through gleefully. the biggest problem is that i know what the problem is, i know what the solution is and know that everything is in my hands, all i need is just a, little effort and that is what is missing on most occasions. on most, i must be joking. on all occasions. i dont have a recollection of when i have done something that has given me pleasure or satisfaction. i know that satisfaction is obtained when fruits are borne out of one's intense efforts and the more sweat and time you put in in a piece of work, the better would be the feeling when the desired outcome is obtained. the problem with me is that im uninterested, infact disinterested would be a better word, to put in the efforts. my will power is as brittle as anything. i dont know how to resurrect the fact that it is so brittle. infact i do, i know i have to put in efforts, small steps that will eventually help me in the long term. but thats where the irony kicks in. effort is what im not willing to put in. i know for a fact that winning is not just one off, its a habit that one has to cultivate, yet i expect myself to top at my next academic venture despite the fact that i have never done it in the past due to lack of efforts. im also perenially short of self confidence. i dont need my dad to point that out to me, though he has on occasions. i have stood silent many a time with the right answer, doubting myself..."how the hell could i know the right answers when the entire class doesnt...are they fools or am i a genius??"....is the line of thought that runs through my head. another reason is that i get embarassed easily. once pointed out that my answer is wrong, it has a kind of effect on me that just devastates me. it like puts me back a lot. it kind of makes me think that why i quacked in the first place. had it not been better that i had kept shut. opened my mouth and made a big fun of myself in front of the class.and in that respect i try and keep myself as low profile as possible. as i am writing my piece, i was just a while back interrupted by a call from time. they are asking me to come and speak in front of 2-300 people and with a lotta passion. i guess im just gonna give it a try. last time this happened i made a big mess of it. went on stage and i dont even reemember what i said. i guess from an audience of 300 people, 4-5 clapped afterwards. should have strenghthened my resolve never to get up on stage again. but i know i will have to doa lot of presentations in the furture, imn just taking this as a practice session. i'll tryu and do all those calming excercises. and then i'll coax myself to speak with a reassured pace and not just go out and blurt out word so fast that im actually saying stuff before i even think of what i am saying. lets see how it goes. ive been taking steps though to be a trifle more bold and not to get embarrsed easily. but then i have these notions that what the other one would be thinking about me and that makes me hesitate a little. i guess i have to learn that one cannot be loved by everyone simultaneously. i just have to gulp down this bitter syrup. well if you have got this far reading the gamut of drawbacks that i do have, i thank you. i can go on forever. this is just the tip of the iceberg. but then i dont wanna shoo away ppl from my blog. i want ppl to read it once in a while. so i'll end it here and go and study something that i had to yesterday as part of my plan. you can go and have your aspirin...this surely will give anyone a headache. hope you read my blogs again. bye and see you.....

My Trip to Pune

As the year drew to a close, me and a few friends who have been lucky enough to stay at and around Pune decided that it was time that all of us had a meeting. it had been a long time since we bade each other goodbye at Howrah station in calcutta.destiny had taken everyone different places, but the common feeling of loneliness was what coaxed us into investing out time in this get together. so off i went to pune from hyderabad, was a one night journey in an uncomfortable and not-worth-the-price bus, bus was a little price to pay for the emotional replenishment that i was about to get.we were met there by some friends who were our batchmates alright but not close friends..i had to wait just a little longer for the time...and then it happened...when i came face to face with all the ppl that i had left behind after college. it was a strange feeling for me. didnt seem a long time since i left them although it was something like 5 months since we saw each other. maybe the memories etched in my mind never really faded. but i was happy. i dint speak for some time, that was in part because i wanted to listen to that light hearted banter again that i so missed.every one was having a laugh at everyone else, sometimes even at me. i received a few compliments on my weight which confirmed my doubt that i had slimmed down.we all sat around for maybe hours and just chatted amongst
ourselves...forgot to eat our lunch even and it was not until 4 and every eating joint was just about closed that we took off to fill our tummies.it was some of the best food i have tasted in a long time....it was because of the company maybe i dont know...but this hyderabadi food sure does taste bland again. then came the hard part, making a plan for the evening. our grp has been notorious for this....too many ideas and too much mulling over and finally we come up with the same solution every time..that enough time has been wasted and lets just go to the nearest decent place...so we set off...not before calling up our friend debasree in switzerland...i tried 5 times and it didnt connect..and then finally my friend pratyush did and it connected...i was so much hoping to talk first...that was not to be it. we sang the complete birthday song near that booth..many quizzical faces turned towards us...what is that grp of 12 doing there holding the receiver in their hand and singing happy birthday??...but that was the last of our concerns...then we took turns wishing her..all the time one eye on the bill meter which was running very much like a rigged auto meter in hyderabad...and then after a 3 digit amount was paid, we set off again to celebrate the new year eve...it was in a nearby bar cum disco and all....i admit one of the dumbest places to be celebrating new year...i drank a little but watched in amazement as my friends gulped down one peg after
another...i think ive never seen anyone drink as much as akhil did that day...still when the new year came, it did not come with a bang but a whimper...and we wished each other well for the new year...i had not expected what was in store for me this new year...we all went back home and had a good night's sleep...we had to set off for the nearby dam on the mulsi lake(i think it was this only) and that too early in the morning...that for us was about 2 in the afternoon...i didnt get reservation for hyderabad that day, so i had to take for the next that is 2nd...i didnt mind though...who wanted to go back anyway...not me atleast...so finally 10 ppl on 5 bikes set off for a 50 km sojourn through the hills...and it was a blast of a trip...i didnt wear a protective mask on my head, at that moment i thought why every one else was doing so...i realised later that sitting on a high speed bike for 2 hours and with wind and mud and what not blasting in your face would eventually lead to a very bad feeling on the face...not that it was much disconcerting....physical pains was the last on my mind...i was wearing my new trouser(almost new) and my fav sweater and i had taken all care to keep it as clean as possible...we stopped near the lake at one point and all came down to the lake, had a stone throwing competition where i stood maybe next to last...in my defence i would say that i wasnt trying too hard...again we sat there for an hour and just recalled past times, it was great, i clicked some fotos(which ill upload soon)...my friends urged me to take a few steps in the lake...and i said no...my new trouser was pulling me back...that done we set off again for the dam...although a new piece of news to us was that a dam was baing built...so no such structure existed till date...talk about a stupid idea...,but the breathtaking scenery and the time spent at the lake was
compensation enough for that...again we started this time without any plan where to go, just ascending the hills when something i least expected happened...the bike i was travelling on sitting pillion to my former roomie rajiv skid and fell and i was skidding along with it...someone who has been in an accident will tell you that life slows down during the accident and that you will most probably remember all that happened....exactly what happened to me...i could see the stones going past me, hitting me and i also saw the oncoming ditch...we managed to stop in the nick of time, not that it was by anything we did, just luck...a little more and we would have been hurtling down the slope...a little more than just bruises was what i got from that experience...but then again im happy that it happened to me...surprisingly that episode has made me even richer in memories, one thing that will never leave me...skidding along at 60 km per hour with nothing that you can do....when i stood up from that i looked down and saw that the trouser that i had been so protective of had been ruined...talk about irony...but i dont regret it...i consider it a small sacrifice for a great experience...i dont even have that trouser now,,,i gave it to my friend who said that he wanted it...i didnt for one minute finched..i guess ive never felt happier at giving away something that has been my fav...we came back...i was glowing all the way...my first accident..somehow it made me feel proud i dont know why...we stopped downhill at a restaurant, had lots to eat..and finally made it home at night....slept very soundly and for a long time...next day my friends all went to their jobs and i guess that was the most boring day...or so i thought...my friend called up to tell me that cat results were out...i gave him my reg number...i coulnt believe when he told me that 3 results were out and that i had all the calls....what made me even happier was the fact that pratyush my closest friend, i would like to say unabashedly, also got calls...i finally ended up with 5 calls...came back to hyderabad after giving my friends 2 treats..small ones but i hope a precursor to a larger one if i convert...and i believe it has been one of my most memorable new years ever spent...i have a lot more to tell..the ccd treat...emotional farewell with sharma(oops abhishek) and a lots more...but details for later...right now i just want to savour the memories that flood my mind......